The Senate of Canada has ignored the needs of Canadian grain farmers and the recommendations of the elected Members of Parliament. C-234 (An Act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act) was brought forward to correct bad government policy and remove the carbon tax on propane and natural gas for grain dryers, the heating and cooling of barns and other livestock buildings. 

“C-234 was brought forward to correct a gap in the legislation. Given the recent government flip-flop on the carbon tax in the Atlantic provinces for heating oil, this error should have been corrected months ago by the government. It is obvious that with few Liberal MPs across the prairies, the government has decided to continue to penalize prairie grain farmers,” stated Daryl Fransoo, Chair.

The Private Members Bill was passed by all parties in the House of Commons on March 29, 2023 and has been proceeding through the Senate. Unnecessary procedural delays have resulted in the Bill lagging at Third Reading.

“If the rumours that the Prime Minister Office and certain Cabinet Minister’s have pressured Senators are true, this is a serious breach of parliamentary procedure and a clear indication that the current federal government has no understanding of Canadian agriculture or any desire to support us. We had hoped that the returning Minister of Agriculture would support us and have his voice heard at the Cabinet Table, but this is obviously not the case,” closed Fransoo.

The delay of the passage of C-234 will cost farmers significant portions of their income and continue to impact the cost of groceries for everyone.